9 Things I Loved About Biennial 2017

I recently attended my eighth URJ Biennial and in many ways, it was a positive experience. Here are nine things I enjoyed while in Boston:

1. Spending two long days answering questions – mostly about being a voting delegate – at the Solutions Center. The best collateral of this assignment was watching the crowds pass by, waving to people I know and getting up from behind the counter to hug others.
2. Meeting Cooper Boyar, the young man representing J Street at the organization’s table in the exhibit hall. A winner among small Jewish world stories, his mother was my genetic counselor when she worked at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and I needed a genetic counselor; today, she is my friend.
3. Breakfasting at a table for two in Dunkin’ Donuts, only to have George Markley, a longtime, long-ago URJ trustee, join me for some catching-up and a few laughs over coffee.
4. Entering Thursday night’s plenary just in time to hear Rabbi David Stern, president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, deliver his exquisitely crafted speech, “We Have Company.” If he didn’t get an A in homiletics in rabbinical school, he should have! 
5. Chatting with Melissa Rosen, national outreach director for Sharsheret, at the group’s table in the exhibit hall about the possibility of doing some joint education programming with FORCE in the fall…and yes, a bit later winning an Amazon Echo Dot in a random drawing. Thanks, Sharsheret!
6. Having a picture of me and a few folks from my home congregation, Temple Emanu-El in Edison, NJ, land on the Jumbotron during erev Shabbat services. Thanks, Debbi Sager, for taking the photo!
7. Playing hooky on Shabbat morning for a first-time visit to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. It’s a gem! 
8. Returning to the Hynes Convention Center in time to hear Rabbis Sally Priesand, Rebecca Einstein Schorr, and Leah Berkowitz talk about their varied experiences in the rabbinate, an outgrowth of the CCAR Press book, The Sacred Calling: Four Decades of Women in the Rabbinate.
9. Enjoying several meals with friends and colleagues. The first was a delicious seafood dinner at Atlantic Seafood on Boylston Street with Deborah and Steve Rood Goldman. The second was a late Shabbat dinner at California Pizza Kitchen during which Elena Paull, Dan Lange, and I – all URJ colleagues – got to know each other better as individuals. (Shabbat dinner with my congregation, didn't pan out as I expected it would, but, thankfully, I get to see those folks more often than from one Biennial to the next!) Finally, on Saturday night, I had dinner with my mom’s longtime friends Debbie Stone and Sally Winter. For sure, The Mums was with us in spirit in every way.

I’m glad another Biennial is in the books, even as I am hopeful that the Biennial in Chicago in 2019 will bring me as many – if not more – wonderful encounters with friends and colleagues from all parts of my Jewish life.

’Tis the Season

No, silly, not that season.  And not the High Holy Day season, either.

’Tis the season for Jewish music.

Just as cabin fever sets in and the winter doldrums descend, along comes some terrific Jewish music to distract you from winter's woes.

First there’s the sixth annual Winter Jewish Music Concert, which will be held on Saturday, January 18 at 8 p.m. at Temple Israel of Greater Miami. As in the past, this year’s concert will feature musicians from throughout South Florida and cities across this country performing a musical line-up from Yiddish and cantorial to Klezmer and pop, from Israeli and classical to folk and jazz. If you’re lucky enough to find yourself in South Florida next week, make sure to purchase tickets for the event. If, like me, you’ll be stuck in a colder clime, make sure to watch the live stream from your own comfy couch. Either way, it’s sure to be a terrific evening!

Two weeks later, on Saturday, February 1 at 7 p.m., Dan Nichols and Eighteen will be in concert at Temple B’nai Torah in Wantaugh, New York. To purchase tickets ($15 for adults, $10 for kids under 12) or for more information, call 516-546-9177.

If, sadly, you can’t squeeze either of these concerts into your life, check out the Friday night Shabbat song session that rocked the house at last month’s URJ Biennial in San Diego. Click “Play” and before you know it, you’ll be rocking your own house!

Gotta Love That #jewishgeography

This past Friday afternoon, I took the train from New York to Metuchen to be with my father for Kol Nidre and Yom Kippur at my home congregation, Temple Emanu-El in Edison, where he retains a membership that goes back more than 40 years.  Although I arrived at about lunchtime, our first stop was the cemetery, where my mother is buried near her own parents:

A check-in at Beth Israel Cemetery 

Cemetery in Woodbridge, NJ

Having lovingly placed our stones and a few flowers on the graves, we were drained.  Our next stop was a quick bite to eat, close to home:

A check-in at Somerset Diner

Diner in Somerset, NJ

Following this check-in, I proceeded to have a conversation with @JewishSpecialEd, an online friend who was helpful to me a few years ago when I wrote this article, and more recently has written for the URJ's blog.  

Our conversation started when she tweeted this at me: 

@JanetheWriter You are around the corner from me! Where will you be for services, if going? #GmarHatimaTova

I tweeted this back at her:

@JewishSpecialEd Grew up in Somerset. 12 Webster Rd. off JFK Blvd. Temple Emanuel-El, Edison--home cong.

Because it was just a few hours before Kol Nidre, we resumed our conversation last night and it continued today:

@JanetheWriter Small world. I grew up in Scotch Plains. Temple Shalom in Plainfield my home cong. Hope your holiday was meaningful.

@JewishSpecialEd Smaller world...I was with Jody, Daniel and Rachel L******** at break-the-fast tonight -- at Jody's parents' house!

@JanetheWriter Holy moly! Was Matt home?? Loving #jewishgeography

@JewishSpecialEd No...with a WRJ family in P'burgh. I also am loving #jewishgeography!

@JanetheWriter So now we can plan to meet “in real life” at #Biennial13, right?

@JewishSpecialEd Absolutely! It's the only way to close the #jewishgeography loop. Look forward to it!

By far the best addition to the conversation, though, came from @RebeccaSchorr, a mutual friend whom I knew online for a long time before we met in real life.  She chimed in a few minutes ago with this:

@JanetheWriter @JewishSpecialEd loving this convo #jewishgeography

Yup...gotta love that #jewishgeography!

A Potpourri of Jewish Music

If you attended the URJ’s recent Biennial convention, you were, as always, treated to an array of terrific Jewish music from the likes of David Broza, Josh Nelson, Julie Silver, Dan Nichols, Joe Black, Noah Aronson, Michelle Citrin, Peri Smilow, and a host of others.  These dedicated and talented musicians kept our toes tapping, our hands clapping, our bottoms dancing and our voices singing from one end of the Biennial convention to the other.

Better than reading my words about the music, though, watch a few minutes (or the whole megillah) of the Kabbalat Shabbat Song Session to see and hear for yourself.  If you’re anything like me, before long, your own toes will be tapping, your hands clapping, your bottom dancing and your voice singing.

*   *   *

If that’s not enough, plan to tune in at 8 p.m. on Saturday evening, January 14th for live streaming of Miami’s fourth annual Winter Jewish Music Concert.  Formerly known as the South Florida Cantorial Concert, this year’s event (which is beyond sold out!) will feature nearly two dozen cantors, soloists and other musicians performing a wide range of cantorial, Ladino, pop, classical, Yiddish, jazz and rap music from the Bertha Abess Sanctuary at Temple Israel of Greater Miami.  Martin Bookspan, longtime host of “Live from Lincoln Center” will be the guest host and Dr. Alan Mason will once again serve as the concert’s program director. "The sustained success of this annual concert," says Mason, "is due to the consistently high level of executive each performer brings to his or her selection, and the lack of any intrusion (introductions, thank you's acknowledgements) outside of the music."

For a sampling of last year’s music, check out this video:

To tune into the live streaming of the concert, click on this link at the appointed hour (8 p.m. on Saturday, January 14th).  

Happy listening!

*   *   *

Finally, mark your calendars now for 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 11 when choirs from throughout New Jersey and the west Hudson Valley of New York will come together at Temple Emeth in Teaneck for a choral festival…and a chance for you to hear even more terrific Jewish music of all kinds.  Check back soon for additional details.

In the meantime, enjoy the music!

Biennial: It’s a Family Thing

A few weeks before the URJ’s recent Biennial convention, I received an email from a young rabbi and CCAR staff member who amicably inquired about whether his family’s hotel room (for himself, his rabbi wife, and their young daughter) could be near that of his mother (also a rabbi), his grandmother (who’s been attending Biennials for roughly 50 years), and his in-laws (one of whom is a cantor).

I responded with this:

Hi Dan,

I am, indeed, the right person for your request.

Currently, your room is slated to be adjacent to your mother's room.  I certainly can submit your other requests regarding her mom and your in-laws to the hotel, but cannot guarantee that they'll be able to get everyone close together.

Look forward to meeting you there,
~ Jane.

P.S.  On a personal note, I was very touched by your email and the "family affair" that Biennial is for all of you.  My mom, who died last year, loved Biennial and had been attending for longer than I've been working at the Union.  This will be my first Biennial without my parents in attendance...

Dan then graciously wrote again:

Hi Jane,

Thanks for taking care of this and submitting the extra requests!  This will really mean a lot to my family.

I'm sorry to hear about your mother.  It's pretty amazing that her love of Biennial predated your working at the Union.  If you'd like to have some family time, my family would be happy to adopt you!

Looking forward to meeting you in person, as well.
Thanks again!
Dan

Although I regret that I didn’t have a chance to meet Dan or his family, I did, ironically enough, meet some family of my own! 

It was Friday morning and as I left the room where I’d just finished co-leading a 20-minute learning session with the dcc on congregational blogging, a woman approached me:

“Are you Jane?”

“Yes…”

“I’m your cousin, Rena Riback.”

And indeed she is!  Her father, z.l., and my father were first cousins…her grandmother and my grandfather, brother and sister.

And so it was that thanks to Rena, I--like Dan--was able to have some family time at the Biennial, too. 

And how did she know I’d be there in the first place?  From the Facebook page of another Riback cousin, of course!

No, I Haven't Forgotten About You

Dear Blog,

No, I haven't forgotten about you...I've just been Biennial busy.  In fact, I hope your ears were ringing yesterday when Ima (who was off the bima at the time) and I presented a 20-minute learning session about congregational blogging for beginners.  Take a look at the presentation here.  If your ears were ringing, get ready for them to ring again tomorrow when the dcc and I will do a similar presentation for advanced users (in Chesapeake J at 9:45 a.m).

Here are a few other things keeping me on the go:

• Arranging housing, making adjustments and ironing out challenges for staff members, musicians, speakers and VIPs
• Catching up with Frume Sarah and meeting ZaydeGiraffe and Syl, both from her world
• Counting Shabbat lunches 
• Hugging my mom's friends and reminiscing with them about how much she loved Biennial (and all things URJ).  We all concur that she's here in spirit and is, we know, smiling down on what she sees. 
• Caffeine, caffeine and more caffeine

That last dose is wearing off, though, and so it's time for me to say lailah tov.  I'll be in more regular touch again when I get back home to New York, but in the meantime, I miss you and hope you're taking good care.

xoxo,
JanetheWriter

Guests with Issues...Biennial Style

“I have had enough with people who want to have it their way, and I am done catering to the quirks of food-obsessed numskulls,” says Susan Goldberg in a City Room piece in today’s New York Times.

Man, oh Manischewitz, can I ever relate to that statement. Two weeks ago, I hosted an intimate Shabbat dinner for 2800+ guests in Toronto. (OK, I didn’t exactly “host” the meal, but like Susan, it was my job to deal with those she aptly calls “food-obsessed numskulls,” and in a crowd that size, believe me, there are plenty.)

According to the medical journal American Family Physician, as many as 80 percent of Ashkenazi Jews are lactose intolerant. Luckily, my Shabbat dinner was kosher style and chicken was among the entrée choices (fish and vegetarian were the others) so no dairy was served, which neatly dispensed with that issue. However that still left me (and the chef) to deal with the diabetics, the low-fat, low-carb, high protein, low sodium dieters and those who have allergies or aversions to nuts, gluten, garlic, onions, peppers, strawberries, cinnamon, melons, pineapple, sage, black beans, cheese, mushrooms, asparagus, tomatoes, eggplant, avocado, rice and seafood. Did I forget anyone?

Like Susan’s guests, many of mine “presented me with a detailed list of their food requirements.” Among them were these:

Attendee #1 asked for plain grilled or roasted breast of chicken, plain sautéed vegetables and no stuffing or sauce. Fine, but beyond that, please leave the specific preparation to the chef. If, as you suggest, the chicken can be marinated in olive oil, lemon and red wine vinegar and seasoned with salt, pepper and herbs, it's not, strictly speaking, "plain."

Attendee #2 requested “No wheat, yeast, corn, rice, nightshades or vinegar.” Good thing Attendee #2 didn’t end up with Attendee #1’s vinegar marinated chicken breast, which was a real possibility when you consider that my Shabbat guests ate in 16 different dining rooms. And, in case you’re wondering (I know I was), according to The World's Healthiest Foods, “potatoes, tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers, eggplant, tomatillos, tamarios, pepinos, pimentos, paprika, cayenne, and Tabasco sauce are classified as nightshade foods…A particular group of substances in these foods, called alkaloids, can impact nerve-muscle function and digestive function in animals and humans, and may also be able to compromise joint function.” Who knew?!?...

Attendee #3 indicated that he doesn’t eat red meat. Good thing he selected chicken from among the choices. Did I mention that they were chicken, fish or vegetarian?

Attendee #4 also doesn’t eat red meat. She selected fish for Shabbat dinner. Wait, don’t tell me…the choices were chicken, fish or vegetarian, right?

Attendee #5 is a vegetarian. Fortunately, she selected the vegetarian option.

One more: Attendee #6 chose chicken for Shabbat dinner provided that it was seasoned only with salt and pepper and that the sauce contained neither mushrooms nor cheese. Hmmm…did I mention that my dinner was kosher style and thus no dairy would be served?

Thankfully, in his sermon the next morning, my boss eloquently reminded me of the spiritual side of Jewish eating with these words:

First, we know – as all Jews know – that meals are profoundly important in creating and sustaining purposeful community. When we eat alone, we are sorely tempted to focus on ourselves; we distance ourselves from the world, from the needs of others, and—most often—from the presence of God. And eating in loneliness, we drift away from the Jewish people.

But when we join together for a se’udah – a Jewish communal meal – we open our minds and our hearts to the concerns of others, and we draw God in, as a partner, to our sacred community.

For most of us, the Seder, the Yom Kippur break fast, and the Shabbat meal – each an experience of togetherness and solidarity – are among our most significant Jewish memories. For 3,000 years, the message of the Jewish tradition has been: invite others to join you in your festive meals and celebrations.

Unfortunately I wasn’t actually in the hall to hear him speak these words. I was preparing to serve Shabbat lunch to 2100+ guests.

Biennial Redux: Make New Friends But Keep the Old

Rather than bore you with details about food and beverage fiascos at the Union’s recent Biennial convention in Toronto, let me tell you about the other side -- the hugs, the smiles, the reconnects and the new friends who previously existed only on Facebook and in cyberspace.

A few in particular come to mind:

Early on, I met Rachel Turry Roth, managing director of the American Conference of Cantors in Chicago. We’d had numerous email and Facebook exchanges in recent months, but hadn’t ever met face-to-face. That happened on Sunday (or was it Monday?) night in the lobby of the Fairmont Royal York Hotel. Lucky for both of us, we were able to steal away for a late-night cup of tea on Tuesday (or was it Wednesday?) in the hotel’s Gold Level lounge. How nice to have a new friend!

In the wee hours of Thursday morning, I posted this status update on Facebook: Saw lots of Facebook friends in person today. Especially looking forward to meeting Phyllis Sommer tomorrow! To that, Phyllis (aka Ima on (and off) the Bima) responded: Can't wait to meet you too! Hanging out at O’Hare waiting for my flight...

A few hours later, there she was – standing right next to me there in the staff office. And, although we chatted only briefly before she rushed off to present at a workshop and I returned to counting meals, Phyllis and I exchanged cell phone numbers and – if we’re lucky – will have more of a chance to get acquainted the next time she makes it to New York or, by some travel fluke, I make it to Chicago.

Marge Eiseman commented on that post as well: Find me tomorrow -- ok? I'm working at Reeva’s 'Ritings with Ruach in the exhibit hall...all afternoon/evening. Although we didn’t connect in the exhibit hall, we did catch a hug when we spotted each other just outside the plenary hall the next day…or was it Saturday? No matter…if I do ever make it to Chicago, a side trip to Milwaukee for a real visit with Marge will definitely be on my itinerary.

Like Phyllis, Andy Busch popped into the staff office, providing me yet another opportunity to meet someone who previously existed only as a signature block in our email exchanges. Andy and I share roots in central New Jersey, so it was an especially nice connection to make. Lastly, I chatted briefly on an up escalator with Billy Dreskin, with whom I’d previously emailed, but never met. In addition to talking about the use of technology in synagogues, which was the context of our initial emails, he told me that he reads my blog.

“The Union’s blog?” I asked.

“No,” he said, “your JanetheWriter blog.”

Hmmm…Who’d a thunk?!

One more note about Biennial connections: On Sunday, I received this Facebook message from Alan Mason (Alan and I “met” a while back when I wrote about his cantorial concert for the Union’s blog):

Dear Jane,

I was looking forward to meeting you at the Biennial, but a serious injury prevented me from traveling and playing the piano for the Shabbat service. I loved reading the posts and updates, and seeing the photos, but it made me even sadder to not be there. I am in a cast from my elbow to my fingers, with a broken wrist and lower arm, but I am doing amazingly well, will have a full recovery, and will be playing the piano very, very soon.

I always enjoy your posts, updates, and news from the Union.

Alan

I responded and we went on to have a brief exchange of messages over the last several days. At Alan’s request, I will, once again, plan to write a piece for his 2010 cantorial concert, which is scheduled for January 23, 2010 in Miami. Stay tuned for details.

Of course, not all my Biennial connections were new ones. I was lucky to cross paths with Peter Schaktman, Michelle Pearlman, Antoinette and Stuart Matlins from Jewish Lights Publishing, Sally Neff, Ilene Bogosian, the LAs from the RAC and countless others on my endless treks through the Metro Toronto Convention Centre during the course of the week.

And, at the end of the day, isn’t that what Biennial’s all about?

Letter to My Blog

Dear Blog,

I haven’t forgotten about you. And, although I know this is no excuse, I’ve been sooooooo busy that I haven’t had time to “percolate” any posts. If it’s any consolation, I haven’t written for RJ.org in the last few weeks either.

Interestingly, shortly after one of my recent posts appeared there, I received a letter from the rabbi at my new congregation inviting me to bless the candles in the downstairs service (where new members sit) on Kol Nidre. Although I’m sure that the blog post and the invitation are unrelated (the letter from the rabbi was written before the blog post), I’m still feeling a bit chagrined at having written it in the first place. But, it’s a done deal now…and still an accurate reflection of my experience in the synagogue that night.

In a nutshell, here’s what else is going on with me:

• School started right before Labor Day and I’ve got a great class on anti-Semitism as it relates to civil rights public policy. There are only about eight students in the class but in a true, it’s-a-small-world story, one of them left SCA (where I worked from 1991 to 1997) in June, moved to New York to go to school and, lo and behold, sits right next to me! The specifics of how we made that incredible connection is a story for another time. Right now, suffice it to say that the class readings at the moment focus on the history of anti-Semitism (in medieval times, in the Middle Ages, within the Catholic Church, etc.) and although there’s a lot of it and it’s not exactly page-turning stuff, it’s not bad either. A week from this Thursday, Abraham Foxman, head of the ADL, will deliver the Ackerman Lecture at Baruch, so of course we’re required to go. Should be very interesting.
• On the work scene, Biennial food has definitely kicked in and the early mornings and late nights are soon to be the norm. At the moment, it’s all box lunches all the time. In addition, I’m doing my regular job, lots of Biennial miscellany that crosses my desk, and tracking RSVPs from invitees to one of 15 different Shabbat dinners, from rabbis who have been invited to be Shabbat morning Torah study leaders, and from lay and professional leaders invited to sit on the bema at services. Whew! If you want to know more about Biennial, click here.
• Yes, the Schmuck Parade marches on. Nothing terribly new or exciting to report here, just the same old cadre of game players, endless emailers and guys who don’t – for one reason or another -- fit the parameters I’ve set for myself. These include: Jewish, 40-something, and divorced or equally seasoned. That’s it. What’s so hard about that?! I wish I knew because the pickings are oh-so slim. Oh-so slim…
• I seem to be losing the battle against plantar fasciitis so tomorrow after work it's back to the podiatrist where perhaps more cortisone is in the cards. After that, a trip to Westchester for a shiva call to a colleague who just lost her mother. Another long day on tap…

So, that’s about all the news from here, Blog. Again, I apologize for not being a better correspondent. I’ll try to improve in the future. In the meantime, l’shana tova…see you in 5770!

xoxo,
JanetheWriter

An April Fool's Haiku

Yes, 'tis April first,
Biennial is coming.
It is not a joke.